The Eight Belles Stakes is a Grade III

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 race run at Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...

 in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 each year on Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 Day. Run at a distance of 7½ furlongs, it is open to three-year-old filly

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

 sprinters and offers a purse of $100,000.

Raced as the Oaks Prep from 1956–1966, it was then renamed the La Troienne Stakes from 1967–2008 for one of the greatest broodmares in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 throughout the twentieth century, La Troienne. In June 2008, Churchill Downs announced that beginning in 2009 this race would be called the Eight Belles Stakes in honor of the deceased filly, Eight Belles

Eight Belles

Eight Belles was a thoroughbred racehorse owned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms. She finished second to winner Big Brown in the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby held at Churchill Downs, a race run by only thirty-nine fillies in the past...

, who finished second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

. In 2010, the Louisville Distaff Stakes was renamed the La Troienne Stakes

La Troienne Stakes

The Eight Belles Stakes is a Grade III race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky each year on Kentucky Derby Day. Run at a distance of 7½ furlongs, it is open to three-year-old filly sprinters and offers a purse of $100,000....

.

Winners since 1998

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Victoria’s Wildcat	Kent Desormeaux Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year, 1989.-Brief biography:...	Bob Hess Jr.	Bob & Victoria Bayer/Metcalf	1:23.03
2010	Buckleupbuttercup	Julien Leparoux Julien Leparoux Julien R. Leparoux is a Champion jockey currently racing in the United States.Leparoux, grew up in a racing family, the son of a jockey turned assistant trainer. He worked at the Chantilly Racecourse as a stable hand and in January 2003 emigrated to California to work as an exercise rider for...	Eddie Kenneally	Avalon Farms, Inc.	1:29.49
2009	Four Gifts	Shaun Bridgmohan Shaun Bridgmohan Shaun X. Bridgmohan is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.At age thirteen, Bridgmohan's family emigrated to the United States, settling in South Florida where he developed an interest in horse racing...	Steve Asmussen Steve Asmussen Steven Mark Asmussen is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, are both trainers who operate El Primero Training Center off the Mines Road in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas...	Heligbrodt Stable	1:30.94
2008	Game Face	John Velazquez	Todd A. Pletcher	Zabeel Racing	1:28.44
2007	Silverinyourpocket	Calvin Borel Calvin Borel Calvin H. Borel is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the 2010 Kentucky Derby...	Helen Pitts Helen Pitts-Blasi Helen Pitts-Blasi is an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses.Born on a farm, Helen Pitts' parents were both involved in steeplechase racing. She rode ponies and horses from the time she was a young girl, competing in such things as steeplechase racing, pony racing, and fox hunting...	M/M R. David Randal	1:30.14
2006	Joint Effort	Edgar Prado	Dale Romans	Donald R. Dizney	1:28.18
2005	Seek a Star	Jorge F. Chavez Jorge F. Chavez Jorge F. Chavez is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.Chavez began his career in horse racing in 1982 in his native Peru and by 1987 was his country's leading rider. In April 1988 he emigrated to the United States where he raced with a great deal of success at Florida race tracks...	John T. Ward	John C. Oxley	1:28.75
2004	Friendly Michelle	Alex Solis Alex Solis Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California...	Bob Baffert Bob Baffert Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...	M/M Ed Friendly Ed Friendly Edwin "Ed" S. Friendly Jr. was a multiple-Emmy-nominated television producer who was responsible for creating several successful television programs, including Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Little House on the Prairie, and Backstairs at the White House.Ed Friendly served with the United States Army...	1:28.26
2003	Final Round	Jerry Bailey	George R. Arnold II	G. Watts Humphrey, Jr.	1:22.13
2002	Cashier's Dream	Donnie Meche Donnie Meche Donnie James Meche is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing.Donnie Meche won his first race at Evangeline Downs in May 1993...	Steve Asmussen Steve Asmussen Steven Mark Asmussen is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, are both trainers who operate El Primero Training Center off the Mines Road in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas...	Heligbrodt Racing	1:24.83
2001	Caressing	Pat Day Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...	David R. Vance David R. Vance David R. Vance is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer who has won more than 3,000 races....	Carl F. Pollard	1:22.90
2000	Roxelana	Larry Melancon Larry Melancon Larry J. Melancon is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing who rides primarily on the Kentucky-Arkansas circuit....	William Huffman	William Landes III	1:21.97
1999	Sapphire n' Silk	Pat Day Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...	Dallas Stewart Dallas Stewart Dallas Stewart trains a string of thoroughbred horses in Kentucky from bases at Churchill Downs, Turfway Park, Keeneland Race Course, Fair Grounds Race Course, Arlington Park and Saratoga Race Course. Before venturing out on his own, he spent 12 years working under the tutelage of leading trainer...	William Carl	1:23.85
1998	Sister Act	Calvin Borel Calvin Borel Calvin H. Borel is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the 2010 Kentucky Derby...	Jeffrey N. Jacobs	Choctaw Racing/C. Harold Kitchen	1:24.46